Better Global Future is a free, self-paced course from WYSE International for anyone who cares about the state of the world and wants to understand the part they can play in improving it.
It will not lecture you or hand you answers. Each module combines short films, the voices of people from around the world and a series of reflective questions. Together they help you examine what you believe, test it against other perspectives, and decide what you want to do.
What the course sets out to do
- Give you space to think about big global questions in relation to your own life and values.
- Help you understand how people from very different places and backgrounds see the same issues.
- Show that, alongside serious challenges, there is real progress, and that everyone can contribute to it.
- Support you in moving from reflection to personal commitment and action.
What you will get out of it
- A clearer sense of where you stand on humanity's future, diversity, cooperation, responsibility and action.
- Practice in listening to, and learning from, people whose views differ from yours.
- A written record of your thinking in five worksheets and a course journal.
- Five personal commitments, and a simple plan to carry them forward.
The method
How each module works
Every module follows the same eight steps, so once you have done one you will know the rhythm. You reflect on your own, listen to others, are challenged by a short film, react, listen again, and then commit to an action. As a suggestion, allow about 60 to 90 minutes per module, in one sitting or several.
- Reflect Your initial thoughts Note your first, unfiltered response to the theme.
- Listen Hear what others think Hear people from around the world answer the same question.
- Challenge Challenge your thinking Watch a short film that offers a provocative perspective.
- React Your reaction Capture what the film made you think and feel.
- Listen Explore the reactions of others Hear how other people responded to the film.
- Reflect Your AHA moment Step back and ask what now stands out for you.
- Listen Hear the AHA of others Hear what others took away.
- Commit Let's do something! Make a small, concrete commitment.
Getting ready
Before you begin
- Come with curiosity
- There are no right or wrong answers. The course will not tell you what to think; it helps you find answers that fit you and your situation.
- Find your space
- Choose somewhere quiet where you can watch, think and write without distractions. Headphones help.
- Give it time
- Each module has 16–20 minutes of film. As a suggestion, allow about 60 to 90 minutes per module for the reflection and worksheets.
- Write it down
- Print the worksheet for each module, or keep a notebook. Writing helps you think, and lets you look back later.
- Go at your own pace
- Work through the modules in order, as each builds on the one before. There are no deadlines.
Worksheets
How to use the worksheets
Every module has a one-page overview and three short worksheets, one for each part of the eight-step cycle: your first thoughts (steps 1 and 2), reacting to the film (steps 3 to 5), and your AHA moment and commitment (steps 6 to 8). Each worksheet has four questions and takes 10 to 20 minutes.
You can read every worksheet on this website first; nothing downloads until you choose to. The PDF versions are fillable: open one in a PDF reader, type your answers and save your own copy. Or print it and write by hand. Your answers stay with you. This website does not collect or store anything you write.
Keep your worksheets together. In the last module you will look back at the commitments you made along the way.
The course
The five modules
Work through the modules in order. Each has its own page with the videos, reflection prompts, suggested activities and a printable worksheet.
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Module 1
Evolving
Look at the long story of how humanity has developed, and ask what kind of next chapter you want to help write.
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Module 2
Learning from Diversity
Explore the many ways in which people differ, and what becomes possible when you engage with difference instead of avoiding it.
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Module 3
Cooperation
Notice how much of your life depends on cooperation, and ask what, and whom, you are really cooperating with.
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Module 4
Taking Responsibility
Explore what it means to take responsibility for the future, and what kind of ancestor you want to be.
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Module 5
Taking Action
Move from vision to action. Change starts with you, and grows when others join in.
The voices in the course
The people you will hear are participants from different parts of the world. They speak for themselves, not as experts with the right answers: they are thinking aloud, just as you will.
The films were first published on YouTube between December 2022 and January 2023. Where they quote statistics, these reflect the data available at the time. Videos play in YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode, and nothing is loaded from YouTube until you press play.
When you have finished
If the course has sparked something, there are more ways to grow as a leader with WYSE.